Step into the

Howard Rice
 Step into the Rainforest

Step into the

Rice

.75 size

Howard Rice
 Table of Contents
Consultant Publishing Credits
Timothy Rasinski, Ph.D. Dona Herweck Rice, Editor-in-Chief
Kent State University Robin Erickson, Production Director
Lee Aucoin, Creative Director
A Warm, Wet World....................... 4
Conni Medina, M.A.Ed., Editorial Director
Jamey Acosta, Editor
Stephanie Reid, Photo Editor
What Are Rainforests?................... 8
Rachelle Cracchiolo, M.S.Ed., Publisher

Where Are They?.......................... 12

Image Credits
Cover enjoynz/iStockphoto; p.3 spline09/Shutterstock; p.4 szefel/Shutterstock; p.5 Aleksandr Kurganov/
Shutterstock; p.5 Leena Damie/Shutterstock; p.5 Lucy Baldwin/Shutterstock; pp.6-7 szefei/Shutterstock; p.8
Juriah Mosin/Shutterstock; p.9 top: Lim Yong Hian/Shutterstock; p.9 bottom: Johan Larson/Shutterstock; p.10
top: Tul R./Shutterstock; p.10 bottom: Hintau Aliaksei/Shutterstock; p.11 top: Tupungato/Shutterstock; p.11
Rainforest Layers.......................... 20
bottom: CLM/Shutterstock; p.12 left: Atelopus/iStockphoto; p.12 right: Cartiesia; p.13 Lee Prince/Shutterstock;
p.14 top: guentermanaus/Shutterstock; p.14 bottom: Eric Isselée/Shutterstock; p.15 left: Janne Hamalainen/
Shutterstock; p.15 right: Marina Jay/Shutterstock; p.16 top: Ammit/Shutterstock; p.16 middle: Brasil2/iStockphoto;
p.16 bottom: sattahipbeach/Shutterstock; p.17 top: worldswildlifewonders/Shutterstock; p.17 middle: holbox/
Shutterstock; p.17 bottom: Cosmopol/Dreamstime; p.18 MAFORD/iStockphoto; p.18 left: Cartesia; p.18 bottom:
Rainforest Animals....................... 24
Sally Scott/Shutterstock; p.19 left: Elena Elisseeva/Shutterstock; p.19 right: davemantel/iStockphoto; p.20
clauselsted/iStockphoto; p.21 top: yenwen/iStockphoto; p.21 left: Frans Lanting/Frans Lanting Stock; p.21 right:

Protecting the Rainforest............. 26

newphotoservice/Shutterstock; p.22 MorganLeFaye/iStockphoto; p.23 top: Volodymyr Krasyuk/Shutterstock;
p.23 bottom: worldswildlifewonders/Shutterstock; p.23 right bottom: Lucy Baldwin/Shutterstock; p.24 top:
jadimages/Shutterstock; p.24 bottom: Lars Christensen/Shutterstock; p.25 left: Eric Gevaert/Shutterstock; p.25
right: Peter Lilja/Photo Library; p.25 bottom: Dariusz Urbanczyk/Shutterstock; p.26 luoman/iStockphoto; p.27 top:
Jose AS Reyes/Shutterstock; p.27 bottom: Yanas/Shutterstock p.28 left top: MorganLeFaye/iStockphoto;

Glossary.......................................... 28
p.28 left middle: clauselsted/iStockphoto; p.28 left bottom: MAFORD/iStockphoto; p.28 right top: Tul R./
Shutterstock; p.28 right middle: Juriah Mosin/Shutterstock; p.28 right bottom: Johan Larson/Shutterstock;
p.28 bottom middle: yenwen/iStockphoto; back cover Marina Jay/Shutterstock

Based on writing from TIME For Kids.

TIME For Kids and the TIME For Kids logo are registered trademarks of TIME Inc.
Used under license.

Teacher Created Materials

5301 Oceanus Drive
Huntington Beach, CA 92649-1030
http://www.tcmpub.com
ISBN 978-1-4333-3630-0
© 2012 Teacher Created Materials, Inc.

2 3
A Warm, Wet World

Imagine air that is thick with

warmth and wetness. Birds chirp Colorful flowers look up and
and monkeys chatter. Long, leafy try to see the sun peeking through
vines twist around trees. the branches of tall, green trees.
4 5
 What is this place? It is a rainforest.

6 7
What Are Rainforests?

Tropical (TROP-i-kuhl)
rainforests are sometimes
called jungles.

Rainforests are like other

forests because they are filled with
trees and plants. But rainforests are
different in one special way. They Rainforests get about 90
inches of rain each year.
are very wet.
That’s about twice as tall
Most rainforests get a lot of as you!

rainfall. They are also warm most

of the time. In this way, trees and Rainforests like this are called
plants stay colorful and healthy. tropical rainforests.
8 9
 There are many more
tropical rainforests than
temperate (TEM-per-it)
rainforests.

Other rainforests are wet, too,

but for more reasons than rainfall. Rainforests like this are called
They get a lot of water from fog temperate rainforests. They are not
and the moist air that comes from as warm as tropical rainforests, but
nearby oceans. they do not get very cold either.
10 11
 Where Are They?

The Equator (ih-KWEY-ter)

is an imaginary line around
the middle of Earth. It is
halfway between the north
and south poles.
temperate rainforest

tropical rainforest Temperate rainforests are

found near coasts. They are further
Tropical rainforests are found north and south of the Equator than
near Earth’s equator. tropical rainforests.
12 13
 The largest tropical rainforest More than one-third of all the
in the world is called the Amazon world’s plant and animal species live
Rainforest. It is in South America. in the Amazon Rainforest!
14 15
 Almost all the room in a
rainforest is taken up by
plants. There are even giant sloth
some plants that live on
other plants!

water lily
toucan

jaguar

orchid
capybara

The Amazon is so full of life

that about 50,000 different kinds There are so many plants and
of plants, 1,800 different kinds of animals in the Amazon Rainforest
fish, and 1,200 different kinds of that we still do not know all that
butterflies live there. live there.
16 17
As old as this rainforest
is, it is a baby compared
to tropical rainforests.
Tropical rainforests are
millions of years old!
Trees keep growing all their lives.
About one-fourth of the world’s So the oldest trees in this rainforest
temperate rainforest is found in are very large. One spruce tree is 312
British Columbia, Canada. This feet tall. One fir tree is 40 feet wide.
rainforest is very old. Some trees That means that this fir tree is as wide
have been living there for 2,000 years. as 10 of your friends lying end to end!

18 19
 Rainforest Layers

tarantula red morpho

kiwi

There are three layers of life in Next comes the understory. It

a rainforest. The first layer is called is cool and dark. Small trees and
the forest floor. It is dark, wet, shrubs grow there. Butterflies
and soft. This is the area along the and some small animals live in the
ground where many insects live. understory.
20 21
 macaw

eyelash viper

Finally, there is the canopy.

This is the top of the rainforest’s tall
trees. Many birds and snakes live in
the canopy.

22 23
 Rainforest Animals

tree frog

golden lion tamarind

black bear

Half of all the animal species

on Earth can be found in the
world’s rainforests.
raccoon squash bug

Animals that live in the Tropical rainforests are filled

temperate rainforest are mainly with jungle animals. There are
the same as animals you would find monkeys, tree frogs, snakes, and
in the woods. Black bears, elk, jaguars there. Birds of all kinds and
beavers, and raccoons are just some colors fill the trees. Insects as big as
of these animals. your fist buzz through the air!
24 25
Protecting the Rainforest

The most important thing

we get from rainforests is
the air we breathe. Plants
and trees release oxygen.
People cannot live without
the oxygen that trees and
plants give them.

Even though rainforests are

home to so many plants and animals,
people have been chopping them These things are important, but
down for years. They use the land our rainforests are important, too.
for farms and buildings. They use Many of our rainforests are gone
the trees for wood, paper, medicines, forever. We need to protect them
and more. before it is too late.
26 27
 Glossary

canopy fog

forest floor rainfall

temperate tropical
rainforest rainforest

understory
28
 Step into the

What gets about 90 inches

of rain each year? What
has forests full of colorful
flowers and insects as big as
your fist? Grab your camera
and an umbrella. Take a
tour of the world’s lush
rainforests!

Level 2.5
Word Count: 547
Reading Level Correlations:
Early Intervention Level 20
Guided Reading Level K
DRA Level 28
Lexile® 690L TCM 14630